


it's been a long day (without you, my friend)

by SkyGem



Category: One Piece
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship, Reunions, Team as Family, basically just an excuse for the author to write some angst and fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26693416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyGem/pseuds/SkyGem
Summary: It's been seven long years since the pirate king Straw Hat Luffy and his crew wreaked havoc on the seas. Now, the Straw Hat crew are scattered across the globe, living their dreams and catching up with their family.But no matter how much time has passed and no matter how far apart they are, there's one thing that will never change. The Straw Hats will always find their way back to their captain.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 120
Kudos: 354





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thanks for clicking on this fic! Just like it says in the tags, this fic is basically just an excuse to write some self-indulgent fluff, because I love writing reunions and I wanted to write something soft.
> 
> Do I think the strawhat crew would ever willingly disband? Nope. Am I still going to use this as an excuse to write something feel-good and soft? You betcha.

There's a man who lives just on the outskirts of town.

He's lived there for as long as Rika can remember.

His name is Lucy, and there's something unbearably sad about him, she can't help but think every time she sees him, whether in the market or down fishing at the docks, or even just taking a walk around the forests of their peaceful little island.

It's not that he's melancholy or says morbid things or always looks like he's about to cry.

In fact, he's a rather cheerful kind of man, always with a smile for anyone he passes, always with a kind word to anyone who stops to say hello.

But he doesn't have many friends, that Rika knows of.

He's well beloved by the people in town - hardly a week passes where he's not invited over for dinner at a neighbour's home, or invited to a birthday party or a wedding or a family reunion for a family that he's not even a part of.

But no matter how friendly or happy he always acts, there's always something empty about him. He never seems fully there, his smile never seems to really meet his eyes. Rika can't help but wonder what he looks like when the smile does reach his eyes. She thinks it would be rather beautiful.

She asks her mother one day, when he had moved in.

Her mother stops for a second, thinks long and hard, before finally answering.

"About four years ago now," she says, nodding decisively.

Rika tilts her head curiously.

She had been about three then, more than half her life ago.

"Where did he come from?" asks Rika.

Her mother takes another moment to think. This time, she doesn't seem to have an answer.

"Well, what does he do for a living?"

Still nothing, and her mother is starting to look more and more perplexed, as if only just now realizing how little she actually knows about this man who's been a part of their community all this time now, this man who's so well-loved by everyone.

"You know," says her mother. "I don't believe I've ever seen him working at any of the businesses in town. And he's certainly not a merchant of any kind. Perhaps his family comes from money?"

But that doesn't sound right, to Rika.

For all that Lucy has a rather lovely home, and never seems to be short on money despite how much he eats and how often he buys drinks for other people at the pub in town, he doesn't seem like the kind of person born to a rich family.

He has none of the arrogance that comes from being raised wealthy.

Her mother laughs, carefree and whimsical, and says, "Perhaps he was a pirate."

Rika stops, and considers the thought seriously for a moment.

Her mother had clearly been joking - there's nothing dangerous about Lucy at all. The thought of him murdering and pillaging is strange enough to make Rika want to burst out laughing.

But it's not too difficult, she thinks, to imagine him on the wide open sea.

His arms and legs are thick and sturdy, roped in the kind of muscle that comes from years of hard and heavy labour. He's clumsy sometimes, and could hardly be called graceful on the best days, but he moves with a sureness that puts everyone else in town to shame.

If he was a pirate, he'd be the captain, she thinks.

The kind, headstrong Lucy she's known all her life isn't the kind of person who follows orders from anyone else.

He's the kind of person who protects his loved ones, who's always the center of every group he's a part of.

But if he had been a pirate.

If he had been a _captain_.

Then where was his crew?

 _'Maybe that's why he's always so sad,'_ she thinks. The thought comes out of nowhere, and it startles her with how much it makes sense.

* * *

Rika is almost ten, the day a famous cartographer comes to their island.

She has long orange hair like an open flame and big brown eyes that look around at everything with curiosity and intelligence. She has a smile for everyone who crosses her path, and as she sits at her table in the little cafe at the center of town, Rika can't help but stare.

Despite her friendly smile and powerful body, there's something so...tired about her.

She looks bone-weary, in the way that says she's been spread too thin for too long, without nearly enough rest.

She seems to notice Rika staring from across the little cafe, because she wiggles her fingers in her direction in a little wave, and gestures at the chair across the table from her, a silent invitation that Rika doesn't hesitate to accept.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" the woman asks, closing the book she'd been reading.

Rika introduces herself, feeling uncharacteristically shy under the gaze of this lovely woman.

"It's nice to meet you, Rika," the woman says. "My name is Nami. Do you live in this town?"

Rika nods enthusiastically.

"Then maybe you could help me?" Nami asks, looking hopeful. "I'm actually searching for a friend of mine. His name is Luffy. Do you know anyone with that name?"

Rika doesn't even have to think before shaking her head 'no'. Theirs is a small town, where everyone knows each other, and there's no one with that name living here.

Nami seems to wilt in disappointment, her beautiful smile losing some of its energy.

"Who is he?" she can't help but ask.

Nami just smiles tiredly back for a second, before saying, "My captain."

And the way she says the word 'captain', it's clear just how much she loves this Luffy. She says captain like other people say husband or wife or mother or child. She says captain like he's the sun in her sky.

"Did you get separated or something?" asks Rika, unable to help her curiosity.

Nami laughs, and responds, "Something like that. Our crew disbanded about seven years ago."

Rika's eyes widen in surprise. Seven years...that's almost her entire life. She can't imagine not seeing someone she loves for so very very long.

"Why did you disband?" she asks in a quiet voice, unable to make the thought make sense to her.

Nami's eyes are a little distant, as if she's in another time and place, and for a moment, Rika thinks she's not going to answer.

"I suppose we simply didn't have any more reason to stay together," she answers, her voice wistful. "Our crew...everyone on it had some kind of wild dream. It was something of a prerequisite. We all came from so many different walks of life, so many different personalities and pasts, it still amazes me how well we got along. Sometimes I think those dreams of ours were the only thing that kept us together, through all the bulls - uh...all the difficulties we had to go through. Once all of those dreams were achieved, once we had all found our happily ever afters, I suppose there just wasn't enough to keep us tied to each other. We had all been sailing together for nearly ten years at that point. Maybe we just needed a break from each other."

Rika's eyebrows furrow, and her nose wrinkles in distaste.

"That's stupid," she says.

This gets a startled laugh out of her companion.

"I suppose it would seem so, hm?" Nami responds.

"So why are you looking for your captain now?" Rika asks.

Nami smiles wistfully down at the book on the table, her hands running over the worn leather of its cover. "I tried to live my peaceful retirement life, but it turns out my happily ever after isn't really all it's cracked up to be. Not without my family."

And Rika doesn't know where the idea comes from, except that Nami says her crew disbanded seven years ago, and that's around when Lucy moved to her town too. She knows it's too convenient, but as soon as the thought enters her mind, she can't make it leave until she's voiced it.

"Your captain," she says. "What does he look like?"

"Mmm, well I haven't seen him in seven years, so he could have changed in that time," Nami answers, "But he has messy black hair and big brown eyes, and the widest smile I've ever seen. He's tall, and strong, and he has this awful old straw hat that he loves more than anything in the world."

Rika's eyes go wide in shock and disbelief.

She brings up a hand to her face, and traces a sloping line under her left eye. "And a scar like this?" she asks.

Nami immediately perks up, her expression morphing into one of hope.

"I thought you said you didn't know him?" she asks, sounding breathless.

There's something like desperation in her voice.

Rika shakes her head. "There's a man who lives just outside the village," she says. "And he looks just like how you described. He's lived there almost since I was born. But his name is Lucy."

Nami's eyes widen in surprise for a second, before a startled laugh escapes her lips.

"Lucy, huh?" she asks, her expression unbearably fond as she lifts a hand to try and smother the giddy smile that spreads across her lips. "Figures he would choose that name."

Rika tilts her head to the side, curious, and makes an inquiring sound.

Nami just waves her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry about it, honey. But can you do a favour for me? Can you show me where Lucy lives?"

Rika has to think about it a moment.

Her mom had always told her not to talk to strangers, and although it's just a little too late to obey that little rule right now, there's a big difference between having a chat with a pretty lady in the cafe, and showing that same lady the way to one of the other villagers' houses.

What if she was lying about Lucy being her captain?

But Nami is looking at her so hopefully.

And Rika thinks back to lonely mister Lucy, who's so loved by everyone in town, who's always the centre of a crowd, but whose smile never quite seems to reach his eyes.

"Alright," she finally agrees, and Nami's answering smile is brilliant.

"Oh, thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me!" she says as she immediately starts packing her book back into her bag and picking up her coffee mug to take it back to the counter.

Old Mayumi-san, who's been the owner of the little cafe since before even Rika's mother was born, has been carefully watching their interaction from the beginning and smiles meaningfully at Nami as she approaches. The kind of smile that says 'I know your face, and if you do anything to that little girl, you'll regret it for the rest of your miserable life.'

Nami doesn't outwardly react, except to thank Mayumi for her hospitality.

As Rika walks out of the cafe with her though, she giggles quietly, and confides to Rika in a conspiratorial whisper that, "I like that feisty old gal. Reminds me of my own mother, in a strange way."

Rika giggles at her words, already feeling more sure of her decision to agree to Nami's request.

"That's Mayumi-san!" she explains. "She's lived here all her life and is very protective of the people on our island. She's like a bonus grandma for all the kids on our island. She's very nice!"

The walk to Lucy's home is maybe ten minutes at most, and Rika spends most of it skipping energetically at Nami's side and talking about the people who live in her town.

Nami listens with an indulgent smile on her face, though she becomes visibly more interested whenever Rika tells her about Lucy, and how he fits into their little community. She smiles fondly as Rika tells her about how popular he is with the kids in town.

"It's because he's just a big old kid himself," she says with tinkling laughter.

Though teasing, her words aren't unkind, so Rika laughs along with her.

They're almost at Lucy's house now, and Nami looks like she's about to say something, but then they hear a familiar humming song from up ahead, and Nami immediately snaps her mouth shut.

She quickens her pace, and Rika hurries to keep up.

As Lucy's home comes into view, they see a dark head of hear right out front, tending to his gardens and humming a carefree song to himself.

Nami freezes in her steps, and all the air escapes from her in a whoosh, like she's been punched in the gut.

She's staring at Lucy's back with wide, teary eyes, and maybe she's trembling just a little.

But Rika doesn't get to make sure, because in the next second, Lucy stands up and turns to look in their direction, as if he'd noticed their gazes on him.

Normally, he greets Rika with a big, friendly grin and a pat on the head when he sees her.

Today, however, it's almost as if he doesn't even see Rika - his wide, wide eyes are trained on the woman next to her, blinking rapidly as if he can't quite believe what he's seeing before him.

"Nami?" he asks, sounding just a little breathless.

This gets a broken sob out of the woman in question, and in the next second, Nami's dropping her bags to the floor and dashing forward to fling herself into Lucy's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Luffy," Nami sobs, turning her face into the crook of his neck and clinging to him like he's a lifeline, and she's been drowning all these years without him.

His arms immediately wrap around her as if on reflex, and he stares at the woman in his arms with a baffled expression for a few seconds more, still processing, before his face splits into the widest smile Rika has ever seen on anyone.

For the first time, the smile reaches his eyes, and Rika can't help but think that she'd been right.

That smile is the most beautiful thing she's seen in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's really you!" Luffy exclaims, his arms tightening around Nami. And the next thing she knows, he's hoisting her up in his arms and spinning her in excited circles. "You're really here! I can't believe it!"

Nami laughs at his antics, unable to find it in herself to be upset at him. She smacks him in the arm, saying, "You stop that right now, you big lug! Put me down! We're not as young as we used to be anymore, you know!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" asks Luffy in that clueless tone she'll never admit to having missed as much as she did. Despite his complaints, he's quick to set her back on her feet, although he doesn't let her out of his arms yet.

Leaning forward, he places a sloppy kiss on her forehead before she can stop him, and Nami immediately jumps away with a shriek of laughter.

"You idiot!" she yells, reaching up to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"I couldn't help it, I just missed you so much!" Luffy says with a laugh, completely unrepentant. Running an assessing look over her body, his expression suddenly turns disapproving. "You look a bit skinny. Have you been eating enough?" he asks.

Nami rolls her eyes. "I'm fine!" she insists. "Anyways, aren't I the one that's supposed to be asking _you_ that? Knowing how much you eat, and how incompetent you are at cooking, I'm surprised you haven't starved to death yet!"

"Oh, yeah, the people in town have been _really_ good to me!" he tells her with a blinding grin. "Some of my neighbours have been teaching me how to cook and stuff! I'm still nowhere near as good as Sanji, but I've gotten a lot better than I used to be!"

"Really?" asks Nami, raising an eyebrow and thinking back to all the times her idiot captain had set their kitchen on fire trying to make something to eat for himself when Sanji wasn't around to do so for him.

"Really!" he insists, looking offended at her obvious disbelief. "Why don't you come on inside, huh? I'll make you something to eat and you'll see!"

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Nami looks around for Rika to thank her for showing her the way, only to see that the little girl has disappeared.

"Nami?" asks Luffy, confused at her lack of answer. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" says Nami. "I was just looking for Rika-chan. She's the one that showed me the way to your house."

"Oh!" says Luffy, looking surprised. "Rika-chan was with you? I didn't even notice!"

"That's because you were too busy terrorizing me," Nami tells him. "Help me thank her properly later."

"Of course," Luffy says as he turns to lead her into his home.

Quickly, Nami runs over to pick up her bags from where she'd dropped them before following Luffy into his house. It's a lovely little two-story that, to many, might seem a bit of an overkill for a single person.

But to someone who spent so much of his youth sailing the high seas, Nami can imagine even a house like this could get suffocating sometimes. It was one of the biggest problems she herself had faced, in those first few years she'd spent with Nojiko.

Despite its size, it's rather sparsely furnished, and Nami feels a pang in her heart as she walks through the halls after her captain. There's a pervasive feeling of loneliness in here, and she hates to think that she's part of the reason for this - that she had left her captain on his own for so very, very long.

Luffy leads her to the second floor, pointing at one of the doors and saying, "That one's mine, but you can choose whichever of the other four bedrooms you want. They all have beds, but not much else."

Nami takes one look around at the layout of the floor, before walking decisively over to the door right next to Luffy's.

She drops her bags just inside the doorway without really looking around, before turning and walking back to Luffy. She desperately wants a bath, but she hasn't seen her dear captain in years, and what she needs more right now is to sit and talk with him.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Luffy asks as she threads her arm through one of his, and the two of them head back downstairs.

If it were anyone else asking, Nami would hesitate. If it were anyone else, it would be a serious conversation, a favour to ask, a lot of "if you don't mind" and "i was thinking" and "i don't mean to intrude."

But this is Luffy, and even after not seeing each other for seven years, there's no room for hesitation or consideration in their relationship.

So she shrugs nonchalantly and says, "For good."

And Luffy, for his part, just grins wider and whoops in excitement.

"We're gonna have so much fun!" he enthuses, hopping down the stairs ahead of her and leading her to the kitchen. It's small, and surprisingly neat, given this is Luffy they're talking about. Nami hoists herself up to sit on one of the counters, watching as Luffy goes searching in his pantry for ingredients.

"This island is a bit quiet, but everyone here is really nice!" he says as he starts pulling things out. "And since you're here now, we can take some trips to the neighbouring islands too, for adventure or shopping or whatever! I haven't been to any of them, but you know Daichi-san from next door has to travel a lot for work and he's always telling me about the other islands in the area and-"

"Luffy...you've been living on this island for seven years. Are you seriously telling me you haven't visited _any_ of the neighbouring islands in that time?" Nami asks incredulously, cutting him off.

Luffy turns an expression on her like she's the one saying crazy stuff. "Nami, you know I can't navigate for shit."

"But this is the East Blue!" she exclaims. "It's not like it has any of the crazy weather patterns of the Grand Line. You don't even need a log pose to navigate! All you need is a regular compass and a map!"

Her captain keeps staring at her with a blank expression on his face.

"You could have asked anyone else on this island for help too?" she tries again.

He laughs then, as if she's said the funniest thing ever.

"I already have a navigator!" he tells her matter-of-factly. "Why would I ask someone else to help me sail? Adventures aren't any fun if none of my crew are with me!"

His back is turned to her now so he misses the way Nami flinches, just a little, at his words.

She's breathless for a moment, still beating herself up internally for staying away from him for so long, before shaking herself out of it. She can feel sorry or herself later, when Luffy isn't around to feel bad for making her upset.

For now, she can make up for her years of absence by giving him her full attention and sharing her days with him.

"Damn right, you have a navigator!" she says. "It may not be as exciting as the Grand Line, but you better be ready to take shopping trips with me. I doubt there's any good clothes stores on this tiny little island."

"Sometimes we get merchant ships, but mostly people just make their own clothes at home, or go to other islands to clothes shop," Luffy confirms her suspicions.

"I thought so. We also need to get some more furniture," Nami tells him. "This place is so barren! I don't know how you've been living all this time."

Instead of responding to her words, Luffy just ducks his head to hide the pleased smile on his face, and turns to start preparing the vegetables he'd prepared for a simple stir-fry.

"What?" Nami asks, suspicious at his lack of answer.

"Nothing!" Luffy says. "It's just good to have you back. I missed hearing you yell at me for things all the time. It's been too quiet without everyone."

Nami rolls her eyes, trying to fight back the fond exasperation. "Well, I hope you're still glad to have me here when I'm nagging you to do your chores, or yelling at you for getting so rusty at sailing in the past seven years because you've been sitting around doing nothing."

"Of course!" Luffy responds without hesitation, chuckling in that familiar 'shishishi' way that nearly brings tears to Nami's eyes every time she hears it.

* * *

Lucy's new friend, the woman with the sharp eyes and sharper tongue, settles right into their little community so fast it's almost surprising.

Within a week of being on the island, she's already become one of Mayumi's more frequent customers, and the old woman can't help but find herself becoming fond of the girl. 

Part of it is the frightening intelligence in the girl, the way she so quickly sets up her information network on their island, becoming friendly with the mothers in town, exchanging gossip over afternoon tea, and charming the kids in town with all her travel stories so that they come running to her as soon as anything even slightly out of the normal happens on their island. 

But part of it, also, is the way she makes Lucy smile.

Mayumi knows she's not the only one who's noticed the way the man has absolutely _blossomed_ ever since Nami had come to live with him.

He's always been an energetic and friendly man, but now, there's something more to it. It's like a tension she had never really noticed has melted from his shoulders, a darkness in his eyes that has been lifted.

It makes her wonder what he looks like when his entire crew is at his side, if just his navigator's presence can make such a massive difference.

"Oi!" says an unfamiliar voice as she's closing up her cafe for the day, and she turns to see a swordsman standing there. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, and I need to know if you've seen him," he says gruffly.

He's in his thirties, handsome despite his missing eye and grizzled features. His green hair is slicked back out of his eyes, and his eyebrows are pulled into a disgruntled frown.

"Well, speak of the devil!" Mayumi can't help but say as soon as she recognizes the man, and his eyebrows furrow even more.

"What was that?" he demands, confused.

"My apologies," she says. "I simply wasn't expecting another one of you so soon. Your navigator got here just last week, you know."

"That witch is already here!?" Roronoa Zoro rages, frustrated and much louder than strictly necessary, and Mayumi sends him a glare that's sharp as a blade.

Despite himself, the man flinches back, and looks as if he's about to grudgingly apologize, before his good eye widens, and he asks, "Wait. Nami's really here? T-then does that mean Luffy is here too?" he demands, his voice rising again, but Mayumi can't bring herself to scold him again, not when he's looking at her so hopefully, lips spreading into a wide smile.

She catches a glimpse of movement over his shoulder, and doesn't have a chance to respond before there's an ear-piercing yell of, "ZORROOOOOO!!!"

Without even turning around, Zoro's body immediately goes stiff, and he widens his stance.

Mayumi only has a moment to wonder at his actions, before two arms stretch out, inhumanly long, and wrap around his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading until this point, please be sure to leave a comment on your way out!


	3. Chapter 3

Seconds after hearing his captain's dreaded warning call, Zoro feels the arms wrapped around his shoulder constrict, and a body comes rocketing into his own with a force that would have knocked anyone else through several walls.

As it is, the swordsman stumbles back a couple of steps, gasping for breath as all the air is knocked out of him from the impact. He turns a displeased glare on the rubbery idiot clinging to him like a koala, and is met with a toothy grin and eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I've missed you so much!" his captain declares. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I've been looking for you, you absolute dumbass!" Zoro responds as he begrudgingly wraps his arms around his captain, readjusting his stance so their weight is distributed more evenly. 

"Well, what took you so long?" asks Luffy in an accusatory voice. "You said you were only gonna visit your home island for a short while and then you'd come back to me! You should have been here, like, four years ago!"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you weren't where you said you'd be!" Zoro retorts defensively. "Why did you have to pick somewhere so out of the way and random to settle down, huh? Do you have any idea how long it took me to find this place!? Five! Damn! Years!"

"You've been looking for Luffy for five years!?" Nami interrupts with a splutter, her face lined with bewilderment. Luffy, at these words, starts laughing uproariously, unwrapping his arms from around Zoro to clutch at his stomach.

Face flaming red with embarrassment, Zoro removes his arms which had been supporting Luffy's weight, letting the younger man fall on his ass with a thud, though it still doesn't stop his laughing.

"How is that even possible?" demands Nami. "It shouldn't have taken you more than half a year to search the entirety of the East Blue!"

"I searched all of East Blue, and when I didn't find the idiot captain, I checked out the other Blues too," Zoro tells her through gritted teeth. "And then the Grand Line too. It wouldn't have taken nearly as much time as it did, but I kept getting chased by damn bounty hunters and mediocre swordsmen trying to take my title."

"Well, clearly you didn't do a good job searching, if you didn't find this island," Nami tells him.

"This island wasn't here the last time I came through this way!"

" _Of course it was_ you dumbass! Islands don't just up and move away!"

"Thriller Bark did," says Zoro with a raised eyebrow, expression smug as if he had just won this argument.

"Thriller Bark was a _ship!_ "

Zoro opens his mouth to respond, but is interrupted by a polite clearing of the throat.

Both heads snap around to yell at whoever had interrupted them.

Mayumi stands there with arched eyebrows, her unimpressed expression telling them just what she thinks about their argument, and both of them immediately shut up, looking appropriately chastised.

Nami "gently" nudges the still laughing Luffy in the ribs with her foot. He's still on the ground, clutching his stomach, but he makes a valiant attempt to stifle his giggles.

"I understand that this is a very emotional moment for the three of you," she says in a reasonable voice. "But I would like to remind you kids that the hour is getting rather late, and good little boys and girls are getting ready to sleep. So please be sure to keep your volume low so as not to disturb your neighbours."

"Of course, Mayumi-san!" Nami is quick to say with a placating smile. "We're very sorry to have made such a disturbance, I'll be taking my dumbasses back home now. I promise you won't hear another peep out of us tonight."

Mayumi nods in acceptance. "And keep your talks of piracy amongst yourselves!" she says. "We are just a peaceful little town in the quietest of the four Blues. There's no need to frighten the townsfolk with talk of bounty hunters and pirates chasing after you!"

"Yes ma'am," Zoro says begrudgingly as he leans down to pick Luffy up and throw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Shandora also moved," he grumbles to Nami, making sure to keep his voice quiet as he resumes their earlier argument.

"That's because it was blasted into the sky by the knock-up stream!" Nami hisses.

"It still moved though!" Zoro says. "And don't forget when they moved Fishman Island to the surface a couple years back! Islands move _all the time_!"

"That's not 'all the time'! That's literally only _two examples_. One of which happened like four hundred years ago. And the other wasn't a traditional island in the first place! It was underwater!"

"Tch. You just don't want to admit that I'm right," Zoro accuses.

"Because you're _not_! And besides, this is entirely besides the point. Why the hell didn't you just follow Luffy's vivre card? We all have pieces of it for a _reason_!"

"His what?"

"Oh my God!" Nami shrieks as quietly as she can. "His vivre card! You know, the thing that would have led you right to him?"

Zoro stares at her blankly.

"The little piece of paper that helped you get back to Sabaody after we all got separated?"

Zoro frowns. "The ghost chick was the one that took me back to Sabaody."

"I'm done!" Nami finally says, throwing up her hands in defeat. "I can't _believe_ I ever missed you idiots!"

"Aww, Nami, you missed us?" Luffy asks, from where he's still slung over Zoro's shoulder. "That's embarrassing!"

"Don't you start!" Nami warns him, pinching him hard on the arm.

By now, they've arrived back at the house, and Nami goes ahead to open the door for Zoro. He goes in ahead of her, and as soon as they cross the threshold, Luffy starts patting his back, asking to be let down. When Zoro does so, he lands on his feet and turns in the direction of the kitchen.

"Come on, we gotta drink! And Zoro can tell us what he's been up to all this time!" Luffy decides.

Zoro dutifully follows him, and a few minutes later finds Luffy and Nami nursing cups of sake, while the swordsman has the entire rest of the bottle.

"So?" asks Luffy. "Tell us what you've been doing all this time!"

Zoro shrugs. "After the three of us and Usopp parted ways in Loguetown, I found a merchant ship that was headed to Shimotsuki Village and convinced them to take me with them. Stayed there for two years and helped teach at the dojo where I lived as a kid. Found the girl who's probably going to kill me someday. Got bored and decided to go find Luffy, so I searched the East Blue for him. Didn't find him, so I checked the other Blues and the Grand Line. Came back to East Blue. Ran into Johnny and Yosaku. They had me tell them about the islands I'd checked already in the East Blue. Told me about this one. Showed me how to get here. That's it."

"What, what? Johnny and Yosaku were with you? Man, no fair!" Luffy whines. "Why didn't you bring them with you? I miss them! Zoro's such a meanie!"

"They're bounty hunters, dumbass! Do you really think the Marines would trust them if it was found out they were all buddy buddy with the pirate king?"

"What, and being friends with the pirate king's first mate is any better?" Luffy asks sarcastically.

"The difference between me and you, rubber-brain, is that I know how to be discreet!"

"HA!" Nami laughs before Zoro has even finished speaking, and the swordsman whips around to glare daggers at her. "Oh, please, you wouldn't know discretion if it hit you in the head!"

"Fuck you, asshole," Zoro growls at her.

"Fuck her your self, coward!" Luffy yells, and is immediately rewarded by twin shrieks of disgust and outrage, as well as a haki-imbued thump on the head from Nami, whose face is bright red with anger.

"Try saying that again-" she yells at him, going to thump him again, only to be stopped by Zoro.

"He already has precious few brain cells as it is," he says. "Please don't destroy any more. We need him to be in working order for when we continue our adventures, you know."

Nami growls a few seconds longer, looking as if she might just go ahead and punch Luffy again anyways, but finally stands down.

"Fine," she grumbles.

Rubbing the painful new lump on his head, Luffy looks back and forth between his two friends in confusion.

"Continue our adventure?" he asks.

Zoro turns an unimpressed expression on his captain. "Of course," he says. "Don't tell me you thought this was permanent, captain?"

Luffy's expression turns complicated at those words, bewilderment warring with something that looks like hope.

"But...I'm already the pirate king," he says. "And we've already explored all the islands on both halves of the Grand Line. What else is left?"

Zoro just scoffs in disbelief at his words. "Adventure isn't just about visiting new islands you've never been to before," he says. "It's about spending time with your nakama, and finding new and exciting things to do, even if you're somewhere you've been to before."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Nami says to her captain. "I mean, think about all the friends we've met along the way. Wouldn't it be great to see them again?"

Zoro smirks, his eyes going wide with excitement. "We can visit Skypeia again! Sunny hasn't experience the knock-up stream yet, remember? I'm sure he'd be excited for it."

"Oh hell no!" Nami yells. "We are _not_ taking the knock-up stream again! We didn't know any better the first time around, but there _are_ saner ways of getting up there!"

"Tch," says Zoro, turning away. "The knock-up stream is more exciting. Isn't that right, captain?"

Luffy is quiet for one more long second, before his lips stretch into a grin.

"I don't really care if we take the knock-up stream or not," he says, causing Zoro to look at him as if he's grown a second head, while Nami smirks triumphantly.

"But!" Luffy continues. "There's one thing we _have to_ do this time!"

Nami's triumphant smirk disappears immediately, to be replaced by dread. "...And what is that?" she asks.

Luffy grins wider.

"We're going on a princessnapping spree!!!" he declares.

Then, after a moment of horrified staring from Nami and delighted cackling from Zoro, he corrects himself.

"Although I guess in Vivi's case it would be queennapping? Is that a word? Alabasta can survive without her for a few months, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys tell how much I love writing these three's dynamic?
> 
> Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please do leave a comment below letting me know what you thought, and I'll see y'all next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Zoro ends up sharing a room with Luffy, even though there are three other perfectly good, empty bedrooms for him to choose from.

"We'll end up having to double up anyways when more of the others show up," the swordsman says at Nami's questioning look.

She shrugs and lets the topic drop.

She doesn't mention that they don't even know if the others will come looking for them any time soon. The fact that she and Zoro had arrived within such a short time of each other is already a pretty big coincidence.

For all they know, their little ragtag group might get tired of waiting and set sail in search of the others long before they reach a point where sharing rooms becomes necessary.

Luffy is already hanging from Zoro's neck as the two of them head off to sleep, chattering excitedly about sharing a room with each other again.

And Nami thinks back to all those years she had shared a room with Robin. She thinks about falling asleep to the sound of book pages turning and the soft glow of a lamp, about the way Robin sometimes murmurs in her sleep.

She thinks about all the sleepless nights she's had these past seven years, in her too quiet little bedroom in the house she'd shared with her sister.

And she thinks she understands.

* * *

Zoro has gotten used to sleeping on his own, in the past five years.

Sure, there was that one year he had been travelling the Grand Line with whatever ship was going his way and would take him aboard, but the majority of his time at sea since splitting from his crew had been spent alone on a small, one-man fishing vessel sailing the four Blues.

He's used to being the only human being for miles around, used to the quiet slap of waves against the hull of his ship to lull him to sleep.

But now, in this strange, claustrophobic little house, with the heavy weight of Luffy's body draped across him, and the sound of his captain's rumbling snore in his ears, he feels more relaxed than he has since he can remember.

He lies awake in bed for a long time, revelling in the peaceful comfort of just _being_ around the man he had long sworn his life away to.

His limbs are loose and relaxed, and he's hanging in that soft, hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, debating if the slowly growing wet spot on his shoulder from Luffy's drooling is enough of a bother to warrant shoving the rubbery idiot off.

He's so distracted, he doesn't notice that Luffy's snoring has stopped until the younger man shifts slightly, and huffs out a small breath like a sigh.

"Luffy?" he asks in a whisper, not wanting to risk waking him up if he's still asleep.

Luffy huffs again. "You're still awake," he murmurs.

"Mm," Zoro answers. "Just thinking. Go back to sleep."

"Thinking about what?" Luffy asks instead of doing as he says, his voice already sounding more awake than it had before.

Zoro considers lying.

"Thinking about how much I missed this," he finally answers truthfully.

This gets a chuckle out of Luffy, who shifts a little closer. "And here I thought I was keeping you up."

"What, after sharing a room with you and the other assholes on our crew for ten years, you think a little snoring is gonna keep me awake?"

Luffy shishishi's at the gentle ribbing, and Zoro can feel his shoulders lift in a shrug. "A lot can change in seven years," he says.

"That's true," says Zoro, sitting up in bed as he realizes that neither of them will be falling asleep again any time soon. Within seconds, Luffy has scooted over to plop his head in his first mate's lap.

Zoro rolls his eyes and pushes messy black hair out of that still surprisingly boyish face. "For example, some rubbery idiots forget how to be selfish," he continues. "What happened to the guy who bribed me into joining his crew, huh?"

"That was different."

"Yeah? Enlighten me."

"It's just...it's _different_!" he repeats, sounding frustrated, as if he can't quite put his thoughts into words. "That was before any of us had achieved our dreams. That's why you joined up, right? Because you were looking for the strongest swordsman in the world, and if you were with the pirate king you were more likely to find him. Same with Sanji, the All Blue was most likely to be in the Grand Line. And Robin wanted to know about the void century and the best way to find that was the poneglyphs, which were all over the Grand Line. We were all going the same way, so it made sense to go together.

"And then...and then we'd gone as far as we could go together, and it was time for us all to live our dreams, right? Chopper was supposed to be a world famous doctor working at the best hospital in the world. And Sanji was going to make the best restaurant with the best food. And Brook was going to spend his days with Laboon and continue his career as the Soul King. And who am I to stand in the way of their dreams? What right do I have to demand you all to stay with me? What makes my dream any more important than anyone else's?"

His voice is shaking by the end, and Zoro can feel his pant legs grow wet with tears as Luffy turns to hide his face.

Zoro doesn't say anything for a long, tense moment.

He's never been a particularly eloquent person, but right now, in this moment, he knows how important it is for him to find the right words.

He hadn't really realized before now, just how badly all these years alone had affected Luffy.

"I think...you're really underestimating your crew, captain," he finally says. Luffy's shaking shoulders go still at his words, and Zoro can feel him perk up slightly in confused interest, waiting for his next words.

"You've always been the kind of person that holds a lot of respect for the dreams of other people. But dreams change over time. Maybe when we were young and just setting out, knowing nothing about how big the world really is, our dreams were that simple. But do you really think that after a decade of sailing with you, any of us could have a quiet life? Do you think that after a decade of being on the pirate king's crew, after being loved by you and loving in return, any of us could be happy without you?

"You changed everything for us, captain. _You_ are our new dream."

Luffy's shoulders start shaking again, and he looks up at Zoro with a tear-stained face.

"B-but then why did you all stay away for so long?" he wails.

"Because they're all stubborn idiots," Zoro says, leaning forward to knock his forehead lightly against Luffy's and forcing him to maintain eye contact. "They don't know what they want. They think the dreams they've had since they were little are what's going to make them happy, and they're going to keep trying to make it work no matter how miserable they are, because that's just the kind of idiots we're unfortunate enough to call a family. Or did you not realize that when they kept trying to leave the crew one after another because they thought it was for our own good, huh?"

Luffy lets out a watery laugh.

"But not you?" he asks.

"Of course not," Zoro scoffs. "I'm the first mate. I've always known my place was right by your side."

"Ah, so I must have just imagined the last seven years."

"That wasn't stubbornness. I'm just an idiot with no sense of direction."

"Ha, so you admit you have no sense of direction!"

"Go to sleep, you dumbass!"

Luffy cackles at the non-answer, before obligingly lying back down.

This time, when he drops back to sleep, Zoro follows almost immediately after.

* * *

Four days after the scary-looking swordsman with green hair shows up, Nami and Lucy leave the island.

Rika's mother is at the grocery store, and after standing around for twenty minutes waiting for her to finish talking with the other customers, Rika had gotten bored and wandered off in the direction of the docks.

There, she had seen the three of them loading supplies onto a modest little fishing vessel.

Curious, Rika had skipped on over, calling, "Good morning Lucy-san! Are you going somewhere?"

Looking up at her greeting, Lucy grins widely up at her.

"Good morning, Rika-chan!" he greets, pushing his hat back out of his eyes. "We're just going on a short trip to visit some friends! What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"Mom's at the grocery store," she tells him, pointing back the way she'd come. "How long are you going to be away?"

Lucy thinks for a moment, before turning to look at Nami questioningly.

"It's about a week to the Gecko islands from here," she says. "So we should be back in a month at the latest? It depends how long we stay at Syrup village, honestly."

"Oh," says Rika quietly, frowning. In all the years he'd been living on their island, she doesn't remember Lucy ever leaving, except on short fishing trips that took less than a day.

"Come back safely," she says. "I'll miss you."

"Of course!" Lucy says, still with that beaming smile of his. "I've been sailing the seas since long before you were born, Rika-chan! There's no one in the East Blue that could hurt me, so don't you worry!"

"Really?" asks Rika in excitement. This is the first time he's mentioned anything about being a sailor.

"That's right!" he assures her. "Now come on, can I get a goodbye hug?"

She doesn't need any further prompting.

Skipping forward the few feet to where he's standing next to his boat, she throws her arms around him.

"Have fun with your friends! Bring me a souvenir!"

"Cheeky little brat," he says with a laugh, ruffling her hair playfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh thanks for everyone's kind support thus far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and please be sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't _believe_ you two knuckleheads!" a startlingly familiar voice all but screeches from down the road, and Usopp immediately jerks up from his nap, heart racing with anticipation as he looks around blinking in the bright afternoon sunlight.

He's sure the words _must_ have been a part of his dream, because despite how different it is from what he remembers, he would recognize that cadence, that fond exasperation, anywhere. And no matter how much he wishes otherwise, there's no way the person that voice belongs to would be anywhere near here.

But then a much quieter voice drifts to him on the breeze, a sulky one saying, "We said we were sorry! It's not our fault East Blue is so boring! What else were we supposed to do?"

Usopp's breath catches in his throat as he recognizes his captain's voice, and he nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to stand up, his heart racing a mile a minute in his chest.

"You could've been patient for once in your damn life!" Nami's voice lectures, and Usopp dashes after it, his stomach flip-flopping with an anxious energy. "We don't even have half our crew yet, what the hell makes you think getting the marines' attention would be a good idea, huh? Now our faces are going to be in all the newspapers you _morons_!"

"We can take them," comes Zoro's casual reply.

"It's not about whether we can take them or not!" Nami rebuts, just as Usopp turns a corner, and sees them.

He freezes in his tracks, chest heaving and nerves stealing away his voice before he can say anything.

"Now that everyone knows we're back in business, we're gonna have bounty hunters and other pirate crews and upstart marine rookies on our tails trying to make a reputation for themselves! You should know how annoying that is, given the five years you had to deal with it by yourself! It's only gonna make it that much more annoying to reunite with our other crewmembers."

Zoro scoffs. "Well the rest of our crew are going to see us in the newspapers too, so we won't have to go looking for them, right? They can just follow Luffy's vivre card to us. Wouldn't it be faster that way anyways?"

Nami opens her mouth to keep shouting at him, but is instead interrupted by Luffy's excited yell of, "USOPP!"

Both Nami and Zoro's heads snap in his direction, graced with twin expressions of excitement, and Usopp feels his heart warm with happiness.

Luffy takes a running leap at him, tears in the corners of his eyes, and it's only on reflex alone that Usopp is able to catch him in his embrace without being knocked to the ground.

"Hey there, captain," he says in a soft voice, squeezing Luffy back just as tightly as the younger man is squeezing him.

Within seconds, Nami and Zoro have jogged over to them too, and Luffy's reluctantly releasing his hold on Usopp to let them have their turn.

Nami hugs him tightly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Look at you! she exclaims. "When did you get so handsome, huh?"

Usopp ducks his head, lips pulling into a pleased little grin that he hides behind a hand. "What do you mean?" he asks teasingly. "I've always been this good-looking."

Nami rolls her eyes and steps back to let Zoro pull Usopp into an embrace. He ruffles a hand through Usopp's curls, grinning wide and open in a way that few in the world have ever had the pleasure of seeing.

"It's good to see you again," he says, with a warmth he usually reserves for Luffy.

And Usopp has always been intimidated by Zoro, just a little bit. Intimidated in the way you feel when you respect someone _so damn much_ , and you want so badly to live up to their expectations, even though those expectations always feel just barely out of reach. He used to hate that feeling, especially in those days after Water 7 when their first mate's gaze would lay heavily upon him, and the weight of his disapproval was like a physical thing.

But now, with the warmth of his family surrounding him for the first time in years, he welcomes even this feeling of intimidation like an old friend.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asks them, eyes bright as he looks back to Luffy. "What was that you guys were saying about sinking marine ships?"

Luffy and Zoro's carefree grins immediately slip off their faces and their bodies stiffen as Nami's gaze snaps over to glare at them.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she hisses icily at the two troublemakers. "You know what these two are like. Can't go anywhere without causing some kind of commotion."

"Come on, Nami! It was bound to happen eventually!" Zoro yells. "Get off our backs!"

"Just because it was bound to happen eventually doesn't mean it had to happen _now_! At least wait until we have a proper ship! Do I need to remind you that we have a fucking anchor with us? There's no way our little fishing boat is going to stand up to marine fire!"

"We'll be more careful from now on!" Luffy says placatingly. "So please just forgive us? We promise we won't pick any more fights!"

"That's what you fucking said last time," Nami hisses angrily.

"Wait wait wait, a proper ship?" asks Usopp, feeling a sudden, growing suspicion.

Luffy turns a wild grin on him.

And it's been years and years, but Usopp can still read his captain's expressions like an open book.

If you had asked him ten years ago, he would have told you that grin means danger; it means the taste of fear at the back of your throat and the tremble of your legs as you run for your life.

Ask him now, however, and he'll say it means _adventure;_ it means the excitement of battle, the satisfaction of a powerful body that can do so much more than you ever dreamed, and the comforting presence of people you would trust with everything you hold dear standing at your side.

"We're going on more adventures!" Luffy hoots excitedly. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

Usopp's first reflex is to agree without another thought.

But he hesitates.

He thinks back to Kaya, and the ring that's been hidden in a drawer at his house for the past month, just waiting for the moment he finally works up the courage to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him.

He thinks back to being a child, having to essentially raise himself after his mother had died, and how he had resented his father for so very, very long.

Now, standing in front of his captain, with his outstretched hand and his eager smile, Usopp thinks he understands his father just a little more.

_(_ _The difference between them is that Usopp had never made any vows to Kaya._

_He won't leave her with empty promises and a lifetime of staring out at the ocean, waiting for a glimpse of a pirate flag that will never come._

_Kaya will move on._

_Kaya will meet someone else and marry and have beautiful children and live a full life._

~~_The difference between Usopp and his father is that Usopp isn't leaving a defenseless child behind to fend for himself_.~~) _  
_

A part of Usopp wonders if maybe he hadn't been waiting for the right time to propose after all.

Usopp grins back at his captain, bright and warm and eager.

"Of course I'm coming!" he answers. "How do you think you'd survive without your faithful sharpshooter?"

Luffy whoops in excitement once more, and launches himself at Usopp in an enthusiastic embrace that nearly knocks the two of them off their feet.

Zoro and Nami start chattering excitedly about their next steps, and Usopp lets their voices wash over him. It sounds like coming home.

* * *

When Kaya answers the door to find her ~~boyfriend? lover? partner?~~ Usopp standing on her doorstep, she knows immediately that something has changed.

He greets her warmly, that sweet, "Hi, Kaya," that never fails to send a flutter of warmth through her.

Today however, there's an undercurrent of sadness to it, and she's puzzled, at first.

But then her eyes drift over his shoulder, catching on a flash of flaming orange hair, a wide grin, the glint of sunlight off gold earrings.

And she _understands_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than I was hoping, but I really like how this one came out. Thanks so much for reading this far and please be sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you thought!


	6. Chapter 6

"She could've come with us, you know," says Luffy, watching his sniper carefully as they leave his home village behind. Usopp is leaning against the side of the ship, tears flowing freely from his eyes as he stares at his retreating island. "We can keep her safe."

Usopp wipes away his tears, sniffs once, and turns to smile bravely at his captain.

He shakes his head.

"She's different from us," he says. "She would have come I think, if we had invited her. But she wouldn't have been happy."

Luffy tilts his head to the side in confusion. "How come?" he asks, sounding borderline offended. "Our crew is awesome! And she already likes us! She even invited us in for food and everything!"

"It's not about whether or not she likes us," Nami says, leaning into her captain's side. The vessel they have is a small one, and had already been crowded enough with just Luffy, Zoro, and Nami on it. Now with an extra person than when they had set out, they find themselves practically falling over each other any time they try to move. Not that any of them mind the proximity, of course. Spending a decade sailing the same ship meant that they had long since trampled over any personal space boundaries any of them might have held, once upon a time.

"Not everyone is an adrenaline junkie like you, Luffy. Some people just want a quiet, safe life. There are plenty of people who spend their entire lives on one island, and are perfectly content."

Luffy still looks confused for a couple more seconds, brows pulled together in concentration as if this is a particularly difficult puzzle he's trying to solve. Finally, his expression clears, and he makes a little sound of understanding.

"Like Makino-san!" he declares.

Usopp chuckles fondly and rolls his eyes. "Sure, like Makino-san," he says. He turns back towards his crew, now that his island has disappeared over the horizon. He grins wide as he makes eye contact with his worried crewmates, packing away his melancholy and focusing instead on the fact that he's back with the people he adores most in this world (though he wouldn't say that aloud if it killed him. His crewmates understand anyways, even without him having to vocalize it).

"So, what's our next destination? Who're we picking up next?"

Nami groans at the question. "We don't know yet," she says. "Everyone seems to have a different idea. We know where some of the others are, like Jinbei and Sanji. But for others like Robin and Chopper, who have to travel a lot, finding them could prove to be difficult. Zoro thinks we should just stay put."

Usopp turns to raise an eyebrow at their swordsman, who shrugs.

"You heard Nami screeching at us earlier. We're going to be in all the newspapers soon enough. That should be enough for the others to get the message. We can just wait for them to come for us."

"But what if they don't?" Nami asks. "What if they're waiting for us to come get them?"

"And what if they _do_ come for us, but they keep missing us because we're always moving?" Zoro counters. "We'll just end up playing an endless game of tag. And not to mention the whole ship situation. Sunny's all the way at Water 7 with Franky. How do you propose we get to her, huh?"

"We could send a message in the newspapers!" Luffy pipes up, and from the way Nami snaps around to glare at him, it's definitely not the first time he's made the suggestion.

"And get a buster call on us?" she hisses. 

"Can't blow us up if we've got a queen with us," Usopp comments offhandedly, immediately earning a bark of laughter from their captain.

"HAH! I told you it was a good idea!" Luffy crows triumphantly, right in Nami's face.

She pushes him out of her space and grumbles, "Just because you two dumbasses both thought of it doesn't make it a good plan. You just want to kidnap her because you think it will be fun! How is it going to help us reunite with the others anyways to have Vivi with us?"

Luffy turns to look at Usopp, completely expecting him to have come up with some master plan already.

Truthfully, it's a little heartwarming.

He leans forward with a conspiratorial expression on his face, and the other three reflexively lean forward as well, watching him expectantly.

"Traffy's had a bit of a boring few years now, hasn't he? About time we spiced things up for him, like the good friends we are, yes?"

* * *

When Lucy and his friends return from their trip, it's with one extra person.

Rika doesn't know what to make of this man.

He's loud and boisterous and swaggers around like the world belongs to him, like nothing anyone does could possibly hurt to him. Despite this however, he's not arrogant in the least. He smiles softly when he sees Rika watching him warily from Lucy's arms after she had tackle-hugged him.

"Hey there, kiddo," he says, kneeling down so that he's eye-level with her. "My name is Usopp, and I'm a friend of Lucy's. What's your name?"

"My name is Rika," she says, bowing politely to him. "Are you going to be living with Lucy and Zoro and miss Nami too?"

He hums thoughtfully, before answering, "For a while."

There's a gentle hand patting Rika's head, and she looks up to see Lucy grin down at her, soft and apologetic.

"We're going to be leaving the island soon, Rika-chan," he tells her, oh so very gently, so unlike his usual carefree manner of speaking.

"To visit friends again?" she asks innocently, and even as the words leave her mouth, she knows she's got it wrong.

Lucy shakes his head. "For good," he says.

Rika stares up at him for several long, silent moments, her eyes wide.

"Oh," is all she can think to say.

And she's embarrassed to notice that there are tears running down her cheeks a moment later, her breath hiccupping painfully in her throat.

Lucy looks suddenly panicked at her reaction, as if he doesn't know what to do, and in any other situation, Rika would be giggling at the expression he shoots in the direction of his friends. But kind, friendly Lucy who's been a part of her life ever since she could remember is leaving, and the news is kind of absolutely devastating.

"Oh, honey," Nami coos, opening her arms for an embrace, and maybe Rika's only known her for about a month, but she sinks into her arms readily, taking comfort in her warmth and in the safety of those sturdy muscles. "I know, sweetheart, I know. Goodbyes are hard."

Rika doesn't say anything through her sobs.

A moment later, she feels Nami's body shifting under her, and Rika gasps in surprise when the woman picks her up in those powerful arms, resting Rika against her hip.

At ten, it should be a little mortifying for her to be treated like such a young child.

But Lucy grins wide, and leans forward to pinch her cheeks playfully.

"Come on now, Rika-chan, what have I said about crybabies, huh? Just because we're going to be leaving the island doesn't mean it's the end of the world."

"B-but I'm gonna MISS you!" she wails, here tears coming as fast as she can wipe them away.

"I know," he says. "And I'll miss you. But just because we're not going to be close, it doesn't mean I'll care about you any less, you know? Rika-chan and I are friends, aren't we?"

"Y-yes," Rika answers in a watery voice, nodding her head emphatically.

"And that's a bond that won't be broken now matter the distance between us. We all have our own lives to live. And one day, our paths are going to cross again, and I'll have so many new stories to tell you! Won't that be exciting?"

Rika nods slowly, trying so very hard to cheer up, so that she doesn't make Lucy sad. But it's hard.

"Hey, Rika-chan," says the new man. "Has Lucy told you about the time we travelled to heaven and freed a nation by killing an evil god?"

The question is so completely absurd, Rika immediately feels her tears stop, too baffled to feel anything but curiosity.

"N-no, he didn't," she answers, as the others all groan.

"Come on, Usopp, you barely did anything that time," Miss Nami says in a teasing voice. "I'm surprised you wouldn't tell a story that was more flattering for you. Like Dressrosa."

Rika looks back and forth between them, her eyes wide and interest growing. Did...did their crew really defeat a god?

Usopp tuts condescendingly at his friend. "Nami, Nami, my dear, sweet, naïve friend. Don't you know that if you start off with the big guns right out of the gate, people won't believe you? First you gotta win them over with the more believable tales."

Zoro snickers. "Oh and you think defeating Enel is believable?"

"It's more believable than whatever the heck happened in Dressrosa that day! I'm pretty sure I _still_ don't know how some of the things ended up happening."

Lucy shishishi's and pipes up, "Ne, ne, Usopp, tell her the one about Thriller Bark! Rika-chan likes stories about zombies, right?"

"What? NO!" Nami reprimands at the same moment that Rika shrieks in excitement, "ZOMBIES?"

* * *

The sound of the bell above the front door tinkles in the quiet of the empty dining room, an hour before the Rose Harbor is supposed to open.

Distracted from the paperwork he had been working on while his staff prepared for the day ahead, Sanji looks up with a frown, the beginning of a reprimand on the tip of his tongue.

However, when he sees Jinbei's familiar stoic face, the words immediately die and he feels the tension draining out of his shoulders.

"Jinbei," he says by way of greeting, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Good to see you, old man. What brings you here at this time of the day?"

Jinbei chuckles, that familiar, comforting rumble that never fails to make Sanji's smile widen, and walks forward to take the seat offered.

"Does one need an excuse to come see his brother?" he asks good-naturedly.

"You do when it's an hour before the restaurant is supposed to open and I'm trying to sort out my finances."

Jinbei scoffs. "As if you weren't looking for the slightest excuse to put them off."

"Well, you got me there," Sanji concedes without much of a fight. His eyes catch on the newspaper in his friend's hand then, and he quirks an eyebrow in interest.

Jinbei slaps the paper down on the table, his soft smile taking on a feral edge as he pushes it towards Sanji.

"Looks like some interesting times up ahead," he says.

Sanji doesn't respond, his attention already claimed by the photograph splashed across the front page of the paper, taking up more than half of it.

Even rendered in black and white, with the grainy quality of a photo taken from too far a distance, he would recognize that ratty old straw hat anywhere.

The photo is of a marine ship in ruins, its sails going up in flames.

There are no other vessels anywhere near it, except for an absolutely miniscule fishing vessel next to it, with one person on board - a woman with long curls draping down her back, turned away from the camera.

On the deck of the marine ship can be seen several soldiers running back and forth in a frenzy, as well as two figures that are definitively _not_ marine soldiers.

"What the _hell_ are those morons up to now?" he demands. But instead of anger or even incredulousness, Sanji is a little annoyed to hear the obvious warmth lacing his tone.

Jinbei has also noticed it, if his laughter is anything to go by.

"I suppose...it is time to start getting your affairs in order."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the longer wait this time around. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a comment below letting me know what you thought!


	7. Chapter 7

It's a peaceful day on the Polar Tang.

They're drifting peacefully through the relatively calm waters of Paradise, taking a much-needed vacation from the constant craziness of the New World, which has been their normal for the past two decades.

A few of the crew are off visiting family, so the ship is a lot quieter than normal, and Law is looking forward to having the chance to relax and unwind a little.

Unfortunately, his peaceful day is interrupted when the transponder snail in the corner of his office starts ringing.

He opens one eye, pulled back from the brink of sleep and watches the snail grumpily for a couple of seconds, wondering if it will stop ringing any time soon.

Unfortunately, when it doesn't stop after a good thirty seconds, he gets to his feet with a grunt, figuring that the sooner he deals with whatever the fuck it is demanding his attention, the sooner he can get back to his nap.

And despite his annoyance at having his nap interrupted, Law can't deny that he's curious. Not many people have his crew's number.

He takes the three steps needed to cross the room, picking up the handset and asking, "Trafalgar Law, of the Heart Pirates. Who is this?"

"TRAFFY! It's me, Pirate Ki-"

He immediately slams the handset back down.

Not even five seconds later, the ringing starts up again, and he stands there, staring at the snail for a long time, wondering if he has the energy to deal with Straw Hat's particular brand of stupid today.

On the one hand, he had _really_ been looking forward to his vacation in Paradise, and no matter what the hell the stupid pirate king is calling him about, there's one thing for sure - he's not likely to get any kind of peace any time soon.

On the other hand, he also knows that there's no way Straw Hat will be giving up any time soon, and it'll be less annoyance for everyone involved for him to not draw this out any longer than necessary.

( _There's also a part of Law, and it's not a small part either, that is secretly, **fiercely** relieved to hear from his pain in the ass ~~friend~~ ally._

_After the Straw Hat pirates had disbanded over seven years ago, their captain had disappeared off the face of the earth, and hadn't been heard from since._

_The popular theory was that he was dead, although that was probably just wishful thinking on the Marines' part_.)

Taking a deep breath, he answers the call again, and before he can even say anything this time, Luffy immediately picks up where he had left off. "It's me, Pirate King Straw Hat Luffy!"

Law grits his teeth. "Yeah, I got that the first time, Straw Hat-ya. Why do you think I hung up?"

There's the sound of familiar snickers on the other side, and Law raises an eyebrow in surprise. He was sure that the Straw Hat crew had all gone their separate ways when they had disbanded. The fact that Luffy has at least a few of his crew with him is suggesting something, and Law doesn't know if he should feel surprised, happy, or _exhausted_.

Straw Hat himself grumbles under his breath for a few seconds, before saying, "Hey, Traffy, is that any way to treat an old friend?"

"An old pain-in-the-ass, you mean?" he asks, finally resigning himself to the fact that he won't be getting out of this conversation any time soon. He picks up the snail to take it back with him to his seat, and collapses back into his chair. "Anyways, what does a washed-up former pirate like you want from me, huh? Unlike _some_ people, _I_ still have a crew to run."

"Liar!" the voice of the longnose immediately calls out. "You were probably just trying to sleep or something!"

Law glares down at the snail, his lack of a response immediately earning laughter from Straw Hat's gang. 

He hates that they know him so well, even after all these years. And he hates that the fact of it makes him so happy.

"My crew and I need a ride!" Straw Hat finally explains. "Me, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro are stuck in the East Blue, and Sunny's all the way in Water 7."

"Just buy another ship to get you there," Law tells them. "It's not like you don't have enough money."

There are two distinct, offended gasps at his words, and then longnose is yelling down the line, "We can't just betray Sunny like that! Just imagine how he would feel if we flew the Straw Hat jolly roger from another ship! He would be heartbroken! And what about the poor other ship, huh? Are we just supposed to abandon it as soon as we get Sunny back? I never thought you'd be so heartless, Traffy!"

"They're just ships," Law responds in a deadpan voice. "They don't _feel_ anything. And anyways, what's in it for me if I help you reunite with your ship? What if I've quite enjoyed the past seven years without you and your crazy ass crew?"

There's a deep laugh at his words, and then the distinct voice of Straw Hat's swordsman saying, "Stop talking out your ass, Traffy."

"We're the best thing that happened to your crew and you know it!" their navigator adds in a smug voice.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far."

"But you do admit that you like us!" longnose crows triumphantly. "Come on! Help us get back to our ship, and we'll let you in on our plan for the next reverie!"

Law takes a moment to process those words.

He considers all his options.

"Change that to leaving me the _hell_ out of whatever you're gonna pull at the reverie, and you've got yourself a deal."

This gets a whine of disappointment out of Straw Hat, but his navigator is quick to agree.

( _He pointedly ignores longnose in the background muttering that "Jaggy will be more helpful anyways.")_

"Where is your crew right now? Any ideas how long it'll take you to get to us?"

"We're actually in Paradise at the moment," Law tells her. "If we cut through the Calm Belt it shouldn't take very long at all to reach you, depending on where in the East Blue you actually are."

"Oohhh! What're you guys doing in Paradise?" Luffy breaks into the conversation.

"Shore leave," Law tells him.

"Noo! You mean some of your crewmembers won't be there?" Luffy wails in disappointment. "Is Bepo there? Please tell me Bepo is there! Is he on Zou? Can we pick him up?"

"Really, Straw Hat-ya, I'm starting to feel a little hurt," Law says jokingly. "Is Bepo the only reason you asked for my help?"

"Don't be silly, Traffy!" Luffy says, laughing as if Law had just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. "Who else would we call? Your crew and ours are basically family!"

"I don't remember agreeing to anything like that," Law tells him.

"Yeah, well, Luffy already adopted you long back, so it's a bit late to be complaining," Nami interjects. "Anyways, you ready to take down our coordinates?"

* * *

The conversation with the Straw Hats ends up taking a lot longer than it needs to, because even after Law manages to take down their coordinates, Luffy doesn't let him hang up for another half hour at least, trying to convince him to take a stop by Alabasta on their way to Water 7, so that his crew can kidnap a queen.

Suspecting that this had something to do with whatever Reverie plan Luffy had alluded to earlier in their conversation, Law had staunchly refused to even entertain the idea, and he had somehow managed to hang onto his conviction until the end of their conversation.

(A part of him can't help but suspect that he'll probably end up giving in, in the end.

For now, he will celebrate his little victory).

By the time he manages to free himself from the Straw Hats' clutches, he's thoroughly exhausted.

He makes his way to the galley, knowing it's the most likely place to find their wayward navigator.

Several heads turn towards him when he steps into the room, surprise playing across their features.

"Captain! Everything okay?" asks Penguin when he sees the way Law exhaustedly trudges his way towards the table he's sitting at with Shachi and Bepo.

Their captain doesn't answer until he's slumped into a chair, and has pushed a scrap piece of paper in Bepo's direction.

Bepo tips his head to the side questioningly. "Coordinates?" he asks, looking between the paper and his captain.

And something in Law's face must give him away - no matter how well Law hides his true feelings, Bepo always seems to be able to read him like an open book. Mysterious best friend powers, probably.

But either way, his mouth widens into a delighted grin. "A new adventure?" he asks. "Do you want me to call back the crewmembers who are away?"

Law shakes his head and waves his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Just an escort quest. Hopefully. You never really know with those idiots."

"Those idiots?" Shachi butts in, expression equal parts excited and mischievous as realization dawns on all three of them. "Captain, are you talking about _our_ idiots?"

Law raises a single unimpressed eye but doesn't contradict him, which seems to be answer enough for his friends.

"Oh, the others are going to be _so_ mad that they missed this," Penguin says, cackling delightedly.

* * *

It's their last morning in the little house that had been Luffy's for the past seven years, and by the time Nami walks into the dining room, the rest of her crew is already there.

Usopp is faceplanted into the table and seems to have fallen asleep again, but Zoro and Luffy have their heads bent together, murmuring to each other in quiet, intimate tones.

Yawning loudly behind her hand, she heads over to the pot of coffee someone had left on the stove to pour some for herself, greeting them with a sleepy, "'Morning."

"Morning!" Luffy chirps happily, looking up at her with a beaming smile, and even Zoro seems to be in an unusually sunny mood as he salutes her with his own cup of coffee in lieu of a verbal greeting.

As Nami goes to take her seat at the dining table, Luffy reaches out a hand towards her.

She rolls her eyes in fond exasperation, letting her captain wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close, resting his head against her stomach. After all these years of living ashore, his messy hair has gone soft and fluffy, instead of the rough and dry split ends she remembers from their years of sailing together (a product of falling overboard at least once a day, every day, for a decade).

"All packed up?" she asks, scratching lightly at his scalp.

"Mm," he answers contentedly. "I got you guys, and I got hat. Isn't that all I need?"

Nami laughs fondly. "And when did you get so sappy, huh? You better have packed at least a couple set of clothes or I swear to God, Luffy, I'll-"

Luffy chuckles good-naturedly, and finally lets her go so she can sit down next to them.

"Zoro made sure to nag me until I packed enough clothes," he reassures her.

Nami nods in satisfaction.

She doesn't say anything more as Zoro and Luffy go back to their conversation, instead taking the chance to bask in their last true moment of peace before the madness of the pirate life descends on them once more.

Sunlight streams through the windows, drenching the room in a warm yellow light, and Nami finds her mind travelling back to a time nearly twenty years gone. 

Sitting here in the presence of her family is a soothing balm on her soul, which had grown weary from the loneliness of all the years she had spent without them. The happiness is not a complete one, not quiet yet with the empty pockets in the fabric of their crew where there are members missing still. And yet, looking around at the three faces sitting around her, Nami can't help the nostalgia that wells up within her. 

It had started just like this, after all, hadn't it?

Just the four of them seated together around the table in the Going Merry, a motley little group of odds and ends with no bounties to their names yet, and no idea of what fate had in store for them.

They really had been ridiculously lucky - Nami still shudders to think that she had really gone into the Grand Line without knowing a thing about sailing its waters, without even a log pose to show their way. And more than that - the route they had chosen had been fated to end in disaster from the very beginning, first with the one year stop-over in Little Garden, to the treacherous journey to Sky Island. 

_Speaking of which-_

"Does Traffy have the eternal poses we need?" she asks Luffy, breaking into whatever he and Zoro had been discussing all this time. "Because you know there's no way we can travel by log pose, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, I think they were planning on picking up the pose for Water 7 on their way here?" Luffy answers, looking to Zoro for confirmation, and earning a nod in return.

"What about Alabasta?" Nami asks. "We're picking Vivi up on our way right?"

Luffy snickers. "Of course!" he says. "Traffy's still not sold on the idea though, so we'll just have to see if someone in Loguetown is selling an eternal pose to Alabasta. If not, I'm sure we'll figure something out. More importantly, when we pick up Vivi, do you think we can bring prince Teos along too? Last time we saw him he was just a tiny baby! He's probably grown so big now!"

"He's still too young, Luffy," Usopp mumbles sleepily from where his face is still planted in the table.

"Isn't he 8 this year?" asks Zoro. "That's how old Momo was too when he sailed with us. Teos will be fine."

"Momo was the son of a samurai, and also was on the run from an emperor," Usopp counters.

"Oh, and you think Vivi's son, of all people, is going to be too delicate for the pirate life?" Nami asks with amusement coloring her voice. "Don't you dare let her hear you say that."

Before Usopp can respond, there's a knock on their front door, and all four perk up.

Nami stands, grinning widely.

"Guess what's our cue!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry this chapter was a bit late in coming. Hope you guys enjoyed it and please be sure to leave a comment down below!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a couple of months since the last update, and I'm sorry I kept y'all waiting for so long! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Law leans against the side of the Polar Tang, pointedly ignoring the dampness seeping into the back of his shirt from the still damp walls.

They had surfaced at this peaceful little island not more than ten minutes ago, and despite the fact that he's sure this place doesn't receive pirate visitors often, there had been none of the usual panicked clamor he had gotten used to in his years as a notorious pirate on the seas.

The few dock workers he can see laboring away under the blazing noonday sun had grinned and waved in welcome, as if Law's crew were expected guests. None of the dock workers had paused in their work, and in the end, it was a little girl of perhaps eight or nine years that had approached them.

Her wide eyes had been completely fixated on Bepo, not even a hint of fear or distrust in her wondering eyes.

Now, Bepo stands on the docks next to her, kneeling so that he's...well, not exactly eye-level, but at least no longer towering over her in quite such a menacing way.

"Hello, little one," he says in that gentle voice of his that he uses with kids and scared animals. "My name is Bepo."

The little girl grins, and bows politely. "Nice to meet you!" she greets. "My name is Rika! Are you a mink?"

Law raises an eyebrow, surprised. He hadn't expected anyone in the East Blue, of all places, to know about minks. Their existence wasn't very well known outside of the Grand Line.

"I am," Bepo answers, and Law can hear his own surprise reflected in his friend's voice. "You know about minks?"

Rika nods, clapping her hands in delight. "Yeah!" she says in a proud voice. "You know, last week, Lucy-san told me stories about the time he and his friends went to Zou!"

"Lucy-san?" asks Bepo. "You mean Straw Hat?"

And okay, yeah, that does make sense. Law supposes he should've guessed that was where the girl had heard about Minks.

Rika nods, opening her mouth to say something else, before she suddenly freezes.

Her expression falls, her childish glee suddenly replaced by a stricken expression.

"Oh..." she says. "Are you here to take them away?"

Her lips are wobbling, her expression showing genuine heartbreak.

Bepo's voice is soft, gentle, when he answers her.

"We are," he says. "He's a dear friend of ours, and we're here to pick up him and his other crewmates. Would you happen to know where they are?"

Rika nods bravely. "I'll go get them for you," she says, before turning and running off in the other direction.

Law watches her go, and can't help but roll his eyes at the sudden fondness that rises within him.

"He really never changes, huh?" says Shachi from next to him, having arrived just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation. "No matter where that guy goes, people always end up loving him."

"Well, I suppose he does need some way to make up for his lack of brain cells, after all. Otherwise, there's no way that dumbass would have managed to become the Pirate King."

Shachi snickers. "Don't pretend like you don't also love him, captain. You've been in a positively gleeful mood this past week. I don't think I've seen you this happy in years."

Law rolls his eyes in exasperation, and flips his friend off, not even bothering to deign his statement with a reply.

* * *

When Nami opens the front door, it's to find little Rika standing there, her face turned into a little pout of displeasure. When she sees Nami, a twitch of her lips betrays the urge to smile, but she stubbornly keeps her feelings displayed on her face.

"There's a submarine at the docks," she tells Nami sullenly. "There's a talking polar bear asking for you guys."

From behind her, Nami immediately hears Luffy's head snap in their direction.

"BEPO!" he yells in excitement, and before Nami even has a chance to react, he's already dashing out of the house in the direction of the docks.

From behind her, she hears Zoro snickering at his captain's reaction.

There's the sound of two chairs being scraped back, and she turns to see that Usopp has finally woken up properly, yawning as he pulls his long curls into a messy ponytail.

Zoro's swords are all strapped at his belt already and he's in the process of shouldering both his and Luffy's bags. Their idiot captain had left his hat behind on the table when he had dashed off, and when he sees it, Zoro casually scoops it up and carries it over to the door before depositing it casually on Rika's head.

He walks off without an explanation, whistling casually as he heads down the road in the direction Luffy had disappeared.

Rika lets out a small sound of confusion at his actions, pushing the over-sized hat back so that she can look up at Nami questioningly.

Nami smiles softly and pats her on the head, saying, "Look after Lucy's hat for us until we get to the docks, sweetheart?"

Rika stares at her a few more seconds, eyes wide, before she nods solemnly, accepting the task with the utmost sincerity.

"Got everything?" Usopp asks as he comes up behind Nami, holding both her bags and his own.

Nami turns back to double-check that nothing had been left behind, and is surprised at the overwhelming feeling of melancholy that suddenly washes over her when she sees the vacant living room.

She hadn't lived here very long, but she finds herself strangely sad to be leaving this little house behind. This was the place that had seen her reunion with her captain, the place that had housed him for the seven long years he had been on his own. This was the place that had seen her soul slowly healing from the years of loneliness spent apart from the ones she loves most in the world. It had been more a home to her than the house she had shared with Nojiko, and she knows she'll miss it more than she had expected to.

She gives one last sweep of the place, sees hers and Zoro's empty coffee mugs still sitting abandoned on the dining table, as if their owners might be coming back any moment now, and after a moment of hesitation she decides to leave them there.

Taking a deep breath, she closes the door behind her, and turns around to see Usopp looking at her with a soft smile, his eyes telling her he understands.

He tilts his head off in the direction the other two idiots had gone.

"Better hurry," he says with an amused tone. "Wouldn't want Zoro to get lost and end up at Laugh Tale."

Nami snickers and follows after him, packing away her melancholy feelings and instead turning her thoughts towards their new adventures - towards the anticipation of returning to her _true_ home, her room in the Thousand Sunny.

The way to the docks is basically a straight path, but she wouldn't put it past Zoro to somehow end up getting lost anyways.

* * *

They hear him coming long before they can see him.

By now, people have slowly started trickling in the direction of the docks, laughing and talking to each other. The mood is something like that of a festival, and Law watches it all unfold with a wary eye, wondering what's going on.

The townspeople stay well enough back from him and his crew though, and when the sound of a dreadfully familiar voice assaults their eardrums, a steadily loudening bellow of "BEEEEPPPPPOOOOO!!!!!", a ripple of laughter spreads through the crowd.

Snickering in amusement, Law (as well as every other Heart Pirate present) takes several cautious steps away from their crewmate, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

Bepo, for his part, doesn't look particularly worried, even when Straw Hat finally comes into sight as he rounds a corner, sprinting with rather intense purpose in their direction.

When his eyes land first on the Polar Tang, then on Bepo standing before it, his expression brightens even more than one would think possible, his smile emerging like the sun breaking through clouds after a thunderstorm.

The genuine delight in his face is infectious, and even as Luffy's arms stretch impossibly long to wrap around Bepo and rocket himself over, the polar bear in question doesn't struggle much. Instead, he widens his stance, and laughs breathlessly as Luffy comes crashing into his body.

"Straw Hat!" he greets with delight, returning the embrace and nuzzling affectionately at Luffy's hair. He's comfortable, so much more so than he usually is with even their own crewmates. Bepo has always been an anxious sort of person, Law knows, and someone like Luffy, who's always so unapologetically delighted to see him, had had no trouble worming his way into his heart.

"It's good to see you again!" Luffy starts rambling almost before Bepo has even finished his greeting. "Has your fur gotten softer? You look even stronger than you did the last time we saw each other! You _have to_ spar with me later, okay? Have you been to Zou recently? How's Carrot and Wanda doing? What have you all been up to since my crew and I have been gone? I hope-"

"It's good to see you too," Bepo answers, seeming perfectly happy to let Luffy remain starfished around his torso. "We haven't been to Zou in a couple of years, but last time we were there, everyone was doing well. Nekomamushi has been saying how he wants to see your crew again. You should visit sometime soon."

"Oh hey, we definitely need to go to Zou again!" Luffy immediately agrees. "We're going to be picking up Hiyori and Tama from Wano afterwards, and I was thinking that Nekomamushi and Inuarashi would want to come with us. Man, they were a riot on our last trip to Wano! Do you think if I ask nicely, they'll let me see their sulong forms? I didn't get to see them in the fight against Kaido and it was SUCH a bummer, man."

"Is that _really_ your biggest takeaway from that day, Straw Hat-ya?" Law asks incredulously.

At the sound of his voice, Luffy's head immediately whips around in his direction. As soon as his eyes land on Law, he immediately detaches from Bepo (to the bear's dismay) and dashes over to sweep Law into a tight embrace.

"Traffy!" he calls excitedly. "There you are! I didn't even notice you!"

"Yeah, because you were too busy accosting my first mate," Law says with a huff and a roll of his eyes. Despite his exasperation, he returns Luffy's embrace. "Where's the rest of your crew, huh? The sooner we set off, the sooner I'll have you out of my hair."

"They should be here soon!" Luffy assures him. 

"Hey, Lucy! Are you really leaving the island for good?" a young man calls from amidst the crowd that had slowly been gathering at the docks.

"Is it true that you're actually a notorious pirate?" calls out a woman from the other end of the crowd.

"How long have you had a devil fruit power?" 

"Doesn't the Pirate King have a stretchy devil fruit power? You're not the Pirate King, are you Lucy?"

"It's not a stretchy power!" Luffy yells back as he whirls around to face the crowd. "I'm a _RUBBER MAN_!"

"So you really are the Pirate King?" the same person yells back.

"That's right!" Luffy responds. "My name is Monkey D Luffy and I'm the Pirate King!"

"Asshole!" an older man hollers. "What's an infamous pirate doing, living in our little town for all these years? How could you keep a secret like that from us, Lucy!?"

"I wasn't keeping a secret from anyone!" Luffy lies, flipping the bird at the man. "It's just that none of you asked!"

As Luffy continues picking a fight with the people who had gathered to see him off, Law can hear his crewmates snickering behind him at the man's childishness.

By now, he can see the last three members of the ragtag Straw Hat crew approaching, followed by the little girl from before. She has Luffy's Straw Hat slipping down over her eyes, and her little shoulders are hunched over in misery.

As the little group of four reaches the gathered crowd, several children break away from their parents, dashing over towards Luffy to attack his legs.

"You better come back and visit again some time, Lucy!" a little girl declares, looking up at him with watery eyes.

"And bring the rest of your crew with you next time!" says a boy from next to her.

"And your ship!" his friend tacks on. "I wanna see Mr. Sunflower!"

"Hey, Sunny's not a sunflower!" Luffy corrects the kid. "He's obviously a _sun!_ That's why he's called _Sunny!"_

 _"_ Wrong!" Nami immediately interjects, coming up and smacking Luffy in the back of the head. From the way her captain flinches, the blow obviously had some haki behind it. "Sunny's a _lion_."

"And besides," Usopp pipes up. "By your logic Luffy, Sunny would work as a nickname for a sunflower too."

"What logic?" Zoro asks as he walks past, earning snickers from both the Straw Hats and the Hearts.

Luffy pouts as his friends laugh and turns to scoop Rika up into his arms. "Rikaaaaa," he sobs in a pitiful voice. "Can you believe how mean all my crewmates are to me? Maybe I won't go out to sea with them after all. Maybe I'll just stay here with you, and everyone else who _really_ care about me."

"Who the hell said they cared about you?" the crowd heckles.

"Get lost, Pirate King! And don't you dare come back until you have more stories to share!"

Luffy obstinately ignores them.

"Maybe I'll just bring Rika with us on our journeys. You would like that, right Rika-chan? Being part of the Pirate King's crew is cool, right? You'll get to see how cool the world is, and you'll get to meet mermaids and princesses and giants and minks and-"

"Please don't bring a kidnapped child onto my submarine," Law interrupts his friend's rambling. "We may be pirates, but there are some things even I'm not willing to go up against, and a vengeful parent is one of them."

"Why is everyone trying to ruin my happiness!?" Luffy wails at the top of his lungs.

Finally, there's a tiny little giggle from Rika, and Luffy's exaggerated expression of despair immediately slips away to be replaced with smug satisfaction.

"I'll miss you, Lucy-san," Rika tells him quietly, like it's a secret he has to take to his grave.

Luffy nods very seriously.

Reaching up, she takes the straw hat off of her head, and places it back in its rightful place.

"I'm going to be a pirate when I grow up," she tells him. "Then will you let me join your crew?"

"I'll keep a spot open for you," Luffy whispers back conspiratorially. "But you have to make sure you grow up big and strong, okay? Because I'm the Pirate King, and only the strongest people are allowed to join my crew."

Rika nods emphatically. "I will!" she declares.

Evidently, their whispered conversation isn't as quiet as Luffy had maybe thought, because a few seconds later, the other kids gathered around them are yelling about how, "That's not fair, Lucy! We want to join your crew too!"

Luffy looks down at the kids gathered around him, his eyebrows raised.

"Well?" he says. "You guys heard what I said! If you want to join my crew, then you have to be strong enough that I won't be ashamed to call you my nakama. Can you do that?"

"Of course!" the kids yell in determination, at the same moment that their parents start calling out in protest.

"It wasn't enough that you've been lying to us all these years, Lucy, but now you're trying to corrupt our children too?" a woman yells.

"Stop turning our innocent children onto the path of crime!" yells someone else.

Laughing delightedly, Luffy places Rika gently back on her feet before yelling at the crowd that, "I'm the Pirate King! I can do whatever the hell I want!"

Before he can heckle the crowd more, Nami finally seems to lose her patience and starts dragging him away by the scruff of his shirt.

And finally, the two crews set off to the good-natured jeering and laughter of the crowd.

* * *

The people of Loguetown are no stranger to pirates.

As the place of birth and death for the first pirate king, they're used to all kinds of unsavory individuals passing through on a regular basis - from promising young crews making their first journey into the Grand Line, to seasoned veterans looking to take a break from the constant craziness of the New World in what is considered the weakest of the four Blues.

But even in the bustling crowds of Loguetown, he supposes that seeing a crewmember of the second Pirate King isn't exactly an every day occurrence. He, perhaps, shouldn't be so surprised at the wide-mouthed gaping of everyone who sees him, the way the masses part before him as if afraid he will start mowing them down if they don't get out of his way fast enough.

He sighs.

After several days of this treatment, he finds he almost misses the overzealous attentions of the marines that had come to be a constant companion during his travels on the Grand Line.

Unfortunately, none of the soldiers here have the kind of fire he had come to expect.

( _He can't help but wonder what Admiral Smoker would think if he knew what had become of his former base_.)

"Yohohoho, I sure do hope Luffy-san gets here soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading this far, and please do be sure to leave a comment down below letting me know what you thought!
> 
> Hopefully, a new chapter of "what if i'm far from home?" should be out soon, but I can't make any promises.


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